Best Bakery: 9 get life term

Show cause notice to Zahira Sheikh Zahira, other family members "deliberately gave false evidence" Rs. 50,000 compensation for wife of one of the victims

MUMBAI: A sessions court on Friday convicted nine of the 17 accused facing retrial in the Best Bakery case in the special court at Mazgaon and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Eight people were acquitted due to lack of evidence.Delivering the verdict, Additional Sessions Judge Abhay Thipsay said death penalty was not called for as no special part played by any accused was satisfactorily proved. The life sentence for the nine persons will run after a series of convictions under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Non-bailable warrants were issued against four accused persons, still at large.

Mr. Thipsay also directed issuance of show cause notices to Zahira Sheikh, her mother Sehrunissa, her brothers Nafitullah and Nasibullah and her sister, Sahira, asking them to show cause why they should not be prosecuted for giving false evidence. He said they deliberately gave false evidence and that harmed the image of activist and journalist Teesta Setalvad.

Before life imprisonment, all of them will have to serve sentences for various other offences under the IPC. All nine have to serve a maximum sentence of 10 years Rigorous Imprisonment for offences under Sections 143, 147, 324 and 326, 148, relating to unlawful assembly, mischief by fire, causing grievous hurt and using dangerous weapons.

In addition, five of them are convicted of offences under Sections 435, 395, 449, 450, 451 and 188 of the IPC. These relate to damage to property, arson, dacoity, wrongful confinement and criminal trespass. Fines varying from Rs. 500 to Rs. 10,000 have also been imposed on the nine convicted persons.